A slide switch construction is known in the art in which the switch base and fixed contacts are mounted on a daughter board which is then passed through wave soldering, washing and other operations. Subsequently, a housing incorporating the movable contacts, actuator, light-emitting diodes, and other elements are snap assembled to the switch base so attached to the daughter board. See for example Spedale, U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,839 and Farrell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,746. However, no one has been successful in adapting such switch construction to a push-button switch.
Push-button switches are known in which the switch action is momentary. That is to say, if the switch is normally off, depressing the push button turns the switch to an on condition. Release of the push-button returns the switch to the off condition. This is sometimes known as momentary switch action. Push-button switches also are known in which the switch connections reverse with each push of the push-button. For example, if the switch is off, depression of the push-button will alter the switch to an on condition which will remain until the push-button is pushed again, whereupon the switch will return to the off position. This is sometimes known as a push-on, push-off switch construction, or alternate action switch.
Efforts heretofore have been made to produce a switch which is optionally a momentary action switch, or an alternate action switch. Such composite switches have required removal or addition of a part to convert from one action to the other, thus requiring a certain mechanical skill on the part of the operator and requiring substantial access room to the switch. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,404,444 and 4,427,853. U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,159 also is pertinent and requires a highly complicated switch action.